A secretary or personal assistant is a person whose job consists of support management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communications, or organizational skills. But this role should not be equated with the role of an executive secretary, which is very different from a personal assistant. In many countries, an executive secretary is a high-ranking position in the administrative hierarchy. Infact in Pakistan, the federal secretary is dubbed the most influential person in the country.
The personal assistant function can be fully done to help one other employee or perhaps for the benefit of more than one. In other situations, a secretary is an officer from a community or organization dealing with correspondence, recognizing new members, and arranging official meetings and events.
Video Secretary
Tasks and functions
A secretary, also known as personal assistant (PA) or administrative assistant , has many administrative tasks. The title of "secretary" was not used as often as a decade ago, and responsibility has evolved to a much more advanced set such as mastering Microsoft Office applications; Word, PowerPoint, and Excel to name a few. Obligations may vary according to the nature and size of the company or organization, and may include managing the budget, keeping books, attending phone calls, handling visitors, maintaining websites, travel arrangements, and preparing expense reports. The Secretary can also manage all administrative details for running conferences or high-level meetings and is responsible for arranging catering for lunch meetings. Often executives will ask their assistants to take minutes at meetings and prepare meeting documents for review. In addition to minutes, the secretary may be responsible for keeping all official records of the company or organization. A secretary is also considered an "office manager".
Maps Secretary
Etymology
This term is derived from the Latin secernere , "to distinguish" or "to separate", passive participle ( secretum ) meaning "separated", with the ultimate connotation of something private or confidential, as with the English word secret. secretarius is someone, therefore, supervising business in secret, usually for strong individuals (king , whales, etc.). Since the task of a modern secretary often still involves handling classified information, the literal meaning of their title is still valid.
Origin
From the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century, the people involved in daily correspondence and the activities of the ruling have taken over the title of secretary.
With the passage of time, like many titles, the term is applied to more and more diverse functions, leading to a joint title to better determine secretary work better, such as a general secretary or a financial secretary. Only "secretaries" are still used either as an abbreviation when evident in context or for relatively simple positions such as responsible administrative officer officers, either individually or as members of the secretariat. Thus less influential posts become more feminine and common with bureaucratic propagation in the public and private sectors, new words are also created to describe them, such as personal assistants.
Modern developments
In 1870, Sir Isaac Pitman established a school where students could qualify as abbreviated writers for "professional and commercial men". Initially, this school is only for male students.
In the 1880s, with the invention of typewriters, more women began to enter the field and over the coming years, especially since World War I, the role of the secretary was primarily linked to women. In the 1930s, fewer men entered the secretary field.
In an effort to promote professionalism among US secretaries, the Association of National Secretaries was established in 1942. Today, the organization is known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP). The organization developed the first standard test for office workers called the Certified Professional Secretaryary Examination (CPS). It was first managed in 1951.
By the mid-20th century, the need for secretaries was huge and offices and organizations featured large secretarial pools. In some cases, the demand was large enough to spur secretaries recruited from abroad; in particular, there is often a constant demand for young English women to come to the United States and fill in temporary or permanent secretary positions. Several organizations were created to assist secretaries from foreign lands, including the International Secretary Association and the British Secretary Association in America.
In 1952, Mary Barrett, president of the National Secretary's Association, C. King Woodbridge, president of Dictaphone Corporation, and American businessman Harry F. Klemfuss created the Special Secretary's day off, to recognize the hard work of the staff in the office. The holidays are happening, and during the fourth week of April it is now celebrated in offices around the world. It has been renamed "Administrative Professional Week" to highlight the increasing responsibilities of secretaries and administrative workers today, and to avoid embarrassment for those who believe that "secretaries" refer only to women or unskilled workers.
Contemporary work
In business, many job descriptions overlap. However, while the administrative assistant is a general term, it does not necessarily mean working directly for a boss, a secretary is usually the key person for all administrative tasks, and is often referred to as a "gatekeeper". Other titles that describe similar work or overlap between traditional secretaries are Coordinating Offices, Executive Assistants, Office Managers and Administrative Professionals.
- At the most basic level (Level/Band 1 or 2) a secretary is usually an audio typist with a small number of administrative roles. A good command of the applicable office language and the ability to type is very important. In higher classes and with more experience, they begin to take additional roles and spend more of their time maintaining physical and electronic files, handling mail, photocopying, emailing clients, ordering stationery and answering phones.
- More skilled executive assistants (Class/Band 4-6) may be required to type at high speed using technical or foreign languages, organize diaries, schedules and meetings and carry out administrative tasks that may include accounting. A secretary/executive assistant can also control access to a manager, thus becoming an influential and trusted assistant. Executive assistants are available to be contacted during off hours with new electronic communication methods for consultation. Special secretaries at higher levels also include Medical and Legal Secretaries/Personal Assistants.
- The biggest difference between the general secretary and the skilled executive assistant is that the executive assistant is required to be able to interact widely with the general public, the vendor, the customer, and any other person or group that the executive is responsible for interacting with. When the level that interacts with the executive increases then skill level is required in the executive assistant who works with the executive. The executive assistants working with corporate officers should be able to imitate the company's style, philosophy, and personality from the executives in which they work. In the modern workplace, the progress of the executive assistants is largely dependent on the success of the executive and the ability of both to make team work performance work smoothly while workplace evaluations reflect their respective executive performance secretaries for the time being.
Training by country
Belgium
In Belgium, a Bachelor's degree in Office Management is ideal for that position. University economics courses, modern languages, and office administration offer a great preparation for the position.
United States
In the United States, various skills and adaptability to new situations are needed. Thus, a four-year degree is preferred and a two-year degree is usually a requirement. Another option is to get professional certification from a national association.
Executive assistant
Civil
The job of an executive assistant is very different from that of an administrative assistant. In many organizations, an executive assistant is a high-ranking position in the administrative hierarchy. The executive assistant works for corporate or executive officers (both in private and public institutions), and has the authority to make important decisions that affect the direction of the organization. Thus, the executive assistant plays a role in decision-making and policy setting. The executive assistant performs an ordinary role in managing correspondence, preparing research, and communications, often with one or more administrative assistants or scheduling assistants reporting to them. The executive assistant also acts as a "gatekeeper", an understanding of the various levels of executive requirements, and with the ability through this understanding to decide on scheduled activities, meetings, teleconferences, or emails most appropriate for time executive allocation.
An executive assistant may from time to time act as executive representative, representing them in meetings or communications and projects managing the production of reports or other results without the presence of an executive. An executive assistant is different from the administrative assistant (a job that is often part of the career path of the executive assistant) because they are expected to have higher levels of business acumen, can manage projects, and have the ability to influence others on behalf of the executive. In the past, executive assistants were required to have a high school diploma, but more work required undergraduate degrees.
Military
In the US Department of Defense, the title of a military assistant (MA) or executive assistant (EA) is usually held by colonels of the Army, Air Force, and Marines, lieutenant colonel, and senior majors and Navy captains, commanders and lieutenant senior commanders who directly support Minister of Defense, Deputy Minister of Defense and other civil defense officials to the level of Assistant Deputy Minister of Defense, as well as general officials or flag officials.
The Secretary of Defense also has a lieutenant-general or deputy admiral as his senior military assistant.
Like their civil counterpart, EA is also a resource in decision making, policy setting, and will have leadership oversight of all military and civilian staff who support civilian officials, officers, or flag officials. EAs are often exchanged with other senior military officers of the same rank who hold the title of chief of staff at other service organizations led by flag officials or public officials. In the case of an integrated commander's orders and the main command of the service, the Chief of Staff is often the general officer or flag officer himself, usually at the 1 st or 2 star level, but he should not be confused with a 4-star Officer holding the Army Chief of Staff or Air Force Chief of Staff.
See also
- Officer
- Legal secretary
- Office women
- Personal assistant
- Receptionist
References
Further reading
- National Association of ParliamentariansÃ,®, Education Committee (1993). Highlights on your Secretary . Independence, MO: National Association of ParliamentariansÃ,®. ISBNÃ, 1-884048-25-0.
- Covert, Bryce (May 4, 2015). "Slow Secretary's Death". New Republic . Retrieved 2018-05-18 . Ã,
- Theoretical-methodological debates in the secretarial field: diversity and singularity
- An educational handbook for the occupied women's profession in the 1960s and 1970s.
External links
- The American Society of Administrative Professionals
- Administrative Professional Resources
- suction - International Association of Administrative Professionals
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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